Berend George Escher (4 April 1885 – 11 October 1967) was a Dutch

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

. Escher had a broad interest, but his research was mainly on crystallography, mineralogy and

volcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word '' vulcan''. Vulcan was the an ...

. He was a pioneer in

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...

al geology. He was a half-brother of the artist

M.C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made Mathematics and art, mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for ...

, and had some influence on his work due to his knowledge of crystallography. M.C. Escher created a woodcut ''ex libris'' for his brother 'Beer' with a stylized image of a volcano around 1922 (Bool number 91). Escher was the son of the civil engineer G. A. Escher, a director of the Dutch watermanagement (''Rijkswaterstaat'') and his first wife, Charlotte Marie Hartitzsch. Escher spent his youth in Switzerland. He studied geology at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (Technical University) of

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

, where he was a pupil of Albert Heim. He finished his studies in 1911 and returned to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where he first became the assistant of M.E.F.T. Dubois at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

and then

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the geological collections at

Delft University Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

. In 1916 he was employed by

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

in the Dutch East Indies. Escher became professor at Leiden University in 1922, at the same time he became director of the geological museum there, he was the successor of K. Martin in that position. Whereas Martin's interest lay mainly with

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

and stratigraphy, Escher was in the first place a mineralogist. In

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

he reorganized the museum by giving more attention to educating the general public in geology. He wrote books on geology, mineralogy and crystallography, scientific as well as for the general public. His research area was mainly volcanology. He was also interested in the geology of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. Of importance were his contributions in discussions with F.A. Vening Meinesz, Ph.H. Kuenen and J.H.F. Umbgrove on zones of negative

gravitational anomalies In theoretical physics, a gravitational anomaly is an example of a gauge anomaly: it is an effect of quantum mechanics — usually a one-loop diagram—that invalidates the general covariance of a theory of general relativity combined with som ...

, which they explained by assuming that

convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the conve ...

took place in the mantle. Escher's contribution was to research volcanism at these zones. He was also a pioneer in using experiments to solve geological questions, for which he set up a

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physic ...

in Leiden. During the German occupation of the Netherlands in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Escher was kept captive by the Nazis for some time. After his release he went in hiding until the liberation in 1945. When Leiden University reopened he became ''

rector magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a un ...

''. He retired in 1955. He was elected IAV President (IAV at that time) for two periods (1948–1954).

References

*A.J. Pannekoek, 1962: ''Geological research at the universities of the Netherlands, 1877-1962'' in Geologie & Mijnbouw, vol. 41 no. 4 p. 161-174 *G.E. de Groot, 1978: ''Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie 1878-1978'' (

Scripta Geologica ''Scripta Geologica'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes on vertebrate and invertebrate palaeontology, palaeobotany/palynology, stratigraphy, petrology, and mineralogy, including gemmology with a focus on systematics. It is publ ...

48

(includes full text PDF)
Biographical dictionary of the Netherlands (in Dutch)
*F.H. Bool ''et al.'', ''M.C. Escher - His Life and Complete Graphic Work'', New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1981 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Escher, Berend George 20th-century Dutch geologists Dutch mineralogists Dutch volcanologists 1885 births 1967 deaths Delft University of Technology faculty Leiden University faculty People from Gorinchem